Discworld Convention 2006 The Chronicle Volume 4 Issue 1 02 Contents June 2005 03 Chairman MEG talks to the people 04 Wordsearch 05 What is Flataly? 06 A View from the Wings 08 The Room they call square: Sator Square 09 Wincanton April Shower 2005 12 Membership List 15 Trevor’s Teasers 16 Contacts Volume 4 Issue 1 of The Chronicle was produced on a PC with QuarkXpress and Adobe Photoshop. Layout, design and typesetting by Karen Martin with help from Jennifer Delaney. Cover illustration by Jessica Phan Printed and bound in Great Britain. This magazine is copyright Star Turtle Limited. Copyright is returned to individual contributors on publication. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form of by any other means, electronic, mechanical, xerographic, photographic, recorded or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holders. Star Turtle Limited is a non-profit company and the Discworld Convention is not actively organised to make a profit. Any funds left when Star Turtle Limited has met its financial commitments will be donated to charity. Discworld is a Registered Trademark. Star Turtle Limited accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of items contained within this publication. 03 Chairman MEG talks to the people Hello and welcome to the first issue of the Chronicle for the Discworld Convention 2006. Although August 2006 seems ages away, a lot of work is already being done behind the scenes to make it all happen. If you've attended Discworld Conventions previously, you may wish to skip the next bit but, be warned! you might miss something important. For those of you who are new to Discworld (or any) conventions, read on. A Discworld Convention always has one key feature and lots of recurring themes. The key feature is, of course, Mr Pratchett. Terry will be our guest of honour for the weekend and will be contributing to a number of events. As to recurring themes, we will be holding the traditional Gala Dinner; a Maskerade, a charity auction, the Kaffe Klatches, oh - and the guilds. Guilds were introduced for the first time in 2004 as a small-scale attempt at "icebreaking". Little did we realise just what we had unleashed on the world. This time, we've done some very minor changes in response to feedback but, essentially, the theme remains the same. Earn points for your guild as directed by your guild head (one of the guests) and guild deputy. If you are new to the convention circuit, don't worry. I was once and, in 1998, I took my first tentative steps by attending the second Discworld Convention in Liverpool. Armed with only a few names and a sense of anticipation, I tiptoed into the Adelphi. Four days later, I strode out determined to maintain contact with all the friends I'd met and hoping that I could help out at future events. And now look at me. Did I start this paragraph with "don't worry"? Maybe I should take that back. Seriously, I am honoured to be following in the footsteps of the instigator of the whole thing - Mr Paul Rood (now Paul Kruzycki) and our esteemed chairman from 2004 - Mr Colm Buckley. My thanks go to both of them for their leadership and determination. The only thing left for me to say now is enjoy the magazine and let us know what you think. If you have suggestions for the programme, the chronicle or anything regarding the event, please drop us a line. If you want to help out in any way, either at the event or in its preparation, contact the relevant address(es) on the contacts page. - MEG Chairman Discworld Convention 2006 04 Wordsearch By Fiona Smith Ankh, Cake, Cohen, Death, Dibbler, Disc, Errol, Fool, Havelock, Hex, Luggage, Magrat, Modo, Ninereeds, Ogg, Ook, Ridcully, Ron, Susan, Tulip, Twoflower, Watch,Wonse. There are 23 Discworld related words cleverly hidden in this mish-mash of letters, how many can you find? When you have found them all the remaining letters will spell out yet another Discworld related word! Answers below 05 What is Flataly? by The Mad Fizzysist F·lat·a·ly ( P ) n. The highly addictive collection and study of little sticky things, postmarks, and related materials; Discworld stamp collecting. [Uberwalde flatélie : XXXX fl-, flo-, filo- + XXXX ateleia, exemption from payment (because a postage stamp indicates prepayment of postage) (a-, without; see a-1 + talos, tax, charge; see tal - in Stolat Roots).] fl a·tal ic or fl a·tal i·cal adj. fl a·tal i·cal·ly adv. f·lat a·list n. Flataly is the latest craze to emit from the brain of Bernard the Cunning Artificer and the bowels of his emporium. Based on the works of he who must be read's (Mr Terry Pratchett) Going Postal and started with the freebie First Day Cover those lucky people at WaterstonesTM were able to include in its purchase. Whilst the sticky things produced may be classed as 'Cinderellas' there are no glass slippers involved, however the world leaders in Stamp collecting (Stanley Gibbons ) are taking an active interest in the rise of this addiction and look likely to be including an article in their SG Monthly magazine. Early Covers (especially the Assassins Zombie cover) already regularly reach high values when sold, however the Little Brown Envelopes is a fun and cheap (only £4.99) way to start collecting Discworld memorabilia. For more details visit http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk or come and have a chat online with the bunch of looney filatalits at http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/index.php To the Red Dwarf Theme Tune Its fun inside, There's all kinds of atmosphere, You're not alone, There with us. Let all fly, Far away to here, Fun, fun, fun, Fun in Wincanton I want to be, with Bernard and Isobel, Drinking fresh, Pearson Tea, Molly cat, peeing on my toes, Fun, fun, fun, LBEs by the tonne, Fun, fun, fun, Fun for everyone. 06 A View from the Wings by Andrew Neville Discworld fandom has given me a lot. I've had endless fun and made more friends than I can count and I decided it was time to give something back. So I volunteered to help out with the theatrical side at the 2004 Convention. I'm a passport-carrying citizen of Thespia so I like to think I know my way around a stage. Taken aside by Suzi at the "Teach Yourself Tech" item, volunteers were sought to help backstage with various programme items - starting with the Maskerade. There was a silence filled by a small voice saying, "I'll do it." And I realised it was mine. Wearing my newly purchased black Convention polo shirt (like assassins, stagehands wear black and I'd forgotten to pack something suitable), I attended the Technical Rehearsal, which was far too early on Saturday morning, meeting John and Angela (Kismet), respectively the Stage and Assistant Stage Managers for the Maskerade. When not engaged upon the Quest for Staplers or Paperclips (an epic affair that saw me frantically criss-crossing the hotel) or the Theft of the Small Table, I listened in as each act came forward and detailed their technical requirements regarding sound, lighting or props. As the pile of CDs containing each entrant's music grew ever higher, I started to get an idea of what I'd got myself into. Returning at 6pm for a walkthrough before the 8pm start, I discovered my assigned role. Props. Quite simply, if anyone needed anything taken on or off stage for their act or even needed help getting on stage due to their costume, then I was to do it. Using my blue gel covered torch, I ran through the call sheet, which detailed the acts picking out those that required my attention. Nerves were creeping in as I realised that there were 39 entrants. It was going to be a long night. The idea of the walkthrough was to go quickly through everything that had to happen, Props were taken on stage, the relevant music and lighting cued up and faded out and props taken off. The only thing missing was the entrants themselves. It seemed to go OK - well the Stage Manager thought so. Then it was 8pm. Show time. Not that we were talking much, you don't tend to backstage, but silence came over us and the tension was palpable. My first job was to set a broomstick for the second act. The first act came off, the lights went down and I crept onto the stage and placed the prop. Well, that hadn't been too hard. I wasn't needed after that until about the 12th entrant but I was still concentrating intently, keeping track of where we were. Then I had about 3 acts in a row that needed my help, one of which needed the Small Table (previously obtained) set and the candles upon it lighting (if you were there, yeah, that was me - but you probably already guessed). The only one that really worried me was the Alice Band entry. The call sheet said, "May need help with bustle." Upon offering, the entrant (Random Companion) tersely advised me, "Don't touch it. It explodes!" I moved out of the way, rather quickly. Finally the last act came off stage and John, Angela and I shook each other's hands. It had all gone rather well. Yes, there had been a few glitches including the Belafon's Rock incident (wherein the wrong music was played for his entrance, resulting in him having to come on later after the sound crew found his CD), but all in all it had gone very well indeed. It was a strange experience as I saw almost nothing of the Maskerade. I did manage to peep from backstage and catch a few glimpses of the acts but you couldn't see everything and often I was just too busy to look. There are compensations however. For a start you get to see the costumes right up close. You can see all the details, which admittedly the audience can't always see and it gives you a new appreciation of the huge amount of time and effort that goes into them. I also came away with a new appreciation of the Maskerade that I hadn't had before. Not until you actually get involved with the event do you realise the organisation it requires. There were 39 acts. They had to get on and off that stage safely and in the right order. Additionally, the stage entrance isn't big, just a little smaller than a normal doorway - and with a step. With some costumes getting onstage in them presents a problem in itself. Add to that the individual music, lighting and props requirements for each act and it adds up to probably the most demanding show I've ever worked on. There is so much that could go wrong that spectacularly fails to do so. Worse could have happened than just the Belafon's Rock glitch. And if they had? The Maskerade is probably the premier event in the Convention programme. Sarcasm and indeed irony would almost certainly have been used. That unique view that I got from being in the wings is part of why I enjoyed it so much. It was also tremendous fun just being involved. The Maskerade was the highlight of my convention - even though I never got to see it! 08 The Room they call square: Sator Square Well it's not a square really, it's a rectangle sort of shape with lots of doors, oh and its two rooms not just one and it's just off the main thoroughfare in the hotel. Named after believe it or not a famous landmark in the Big Wahoonie itself where you can buy everything you could ever dream of including Mr Dibbler's famous identifiable animal products. For 2006 we hope to duplicate the square not only through inviting CMOT himself but a host of other providers of Discworld memorabilia who offers include: badges, mugs, shirt, books, posters, prints, calendars, clothes (some exotic), jewellery, glassware, LARP gear, drinks, figurines, buildings, wizards knobs, diaries and of the course the limited edition DW2006: Behind The Mask goodies. The full list of Merchants is not yet complete but we hope to see all of our old friends again (The Cunning Artificer, Clarecraft, PJSM prints, Bonsai, Kayla, Bursar- Vixen, Reckless Encounter and CMOT) plus a load of new friends as well. We also offer space to our colleagues from associated conventions at heavily discounted rates (and that is cutting our own throat). Watch the website for updates and confirmation of Merchants over the next few months. The Square is a neutral zone for all activities and even assassinations are only allowed with permission of those in charge, no food, no drink and no smoke (yes even Bernard). However having said that Waddy's assassination last time was the highlight of my weekend cos' I missed all the rest of the fun. For the chance of retail therapy come to the square, bring lots of money and spend, spend, spend…hahahahahah!!! (Manic laugh) Yours in plastic Mike Flynn Head of Travelling Shops Division, Merchants Guild. AM 09 Wincanton April Shower 2005 An account by Jason Anthony I arrived in Wincanton at around half three in the afternoon on Friday, and was met by a growing crowd of fans in The Cunning Artificer's shop and surrounding hostelries. After purchasing my first day covers and a few other bits and pieces and spending an enjoyable hour in Bernard's company I adjourned across the road to the Dolphin pub for a pint or two before heading down to the Bear for a pork supper that Bernard had arranged for the early birds. The seating had been randomly allocated by the staff at the Bear. This meant we were seated with people we wouldn't necessarily sit down and have conversations with normally. This proved to be a very enjoyable meal, at least for me; I can't comment on what the other diners thought. After the meal a Ghost Walk had been organized around Wincanton. Around 20 of us left the Bear and headed up the steep long hill that is Wincanton High Street. Our first stop was outside Bernard's store where our hooded guide read out a small history of a Wincanton ghost. Fortunately the next stop was Uncle Tom's which gave us a chance to procure a pint and some kind of spirit. After which the walk moved unsteadily up the hill. I decided to stop about three quarters of the way up the hill and drink my pint whilst the others walked to the pinnacle of the hill and another ghost story. Once rejoined by the rest of the party we headed back down the hill towards the town centre. I quietly slipped into the welcoming entrance of the Dolphin and let the Ghost Tour continue. Eventually, early in the morning a taxi was booked and we went back to the B&B. Saturday (the main day of the event) started painfully - for some reason I had a horrible headache - must have been something I ate. Feeling a little delicate I decided to pop into Bernard's shop to find out what was planned for the day. The back room of the Dolphin was home to Trevor Truran who was teaching people to play Thud, and also the home of some of the Flatalists who had their Discworld stamps on display. The skittles alley became the temporary home of some of Dave Hayden's pets that included snakes, spiders, millipedes, scorpions, toads and giant hissing cockroaches. Bernard & Isobel Pearson Dave was on hand to let people handle some of the creatures and to provide an educational insight into these amazing animals. The Sweetman Hall at the Bear was home to Lupine the Wizard who was performing three Magic lectures. These proved to be excellent fun and managed to stop me thinking of my headache. Lord Hung had also set up in the hall and was producing some amazing origami creatures. He also had some very special Discworld stamps badges for sale. Later in the day, a couple of stalls were set up and Rob Wilkins and Sandra Kidby sold their excellent Flatalist T-shirts and Ankh-Morpork Post Office Bags. Rob gave me a really special one-off Discworld Monthly T-shirt that he and Sandra had made for me. I quickly changed into the new shirt and wore it proudly for the rest of the day. Terry arrived and the Sweetman Hall suddenly became a book signing venue. Terry was quickly pressed into action signing anything anyone put in front of him. Whist the signing took place I popped into the local cafe for something to eat. The cafe had taken the whole Discworld theme to heart and had Hublander Curry and Slum Gullet for main courses and strawberry wobblers, for the brave-hearted, for dessert. The Curry and a mug of tea did wonders for my headache and meant I was ready to enjoy the rest of the day more fully. After the signing session ended there was a Maskerade with some excellent costumes. Dotsie and Sadie were particularly impressive, and an extremely young witch, apparently named Munchkin, melted a few hearts. Feeling much better for my meal I decided I could start drinking again and spent a couple of hours in the Bear, meeting people of the Discworld stamps forum. The sausage supper took place at 7:30 and a few people missed the start of it because they were watching Dr Who on the pub television. The meal was really nice and again the company was superb. After the meal we all converged on the Sweetman Hall that had now become the auction room. The charity that would benefit from the auction was the local health centre that wanted a new special adjustable bed. The auction started off reasonably well, and then Terry purchased a Neil Gaiman novel for 1000 GBP and then put it back into the auction when he realised he already had a copy (after agreeing to still pay the 1000 GBP). After Going Postal the Discworld stamps have gone from strength to strength. Bernard had a very rare blue triangle sport stamp in the auction and to make it even rarer set fire to one of its brothers, much to the shock of all the Flatalists. Eventually the un-burnt stamp was sold for 550GBP. At the end of the auction Terry got up to speak to the crowd. During his speech he took off his hat and immediately people starting bidding on it. Terry asked if anyone would give him 500 GBP for his hat; finally it was sold for 600 GBP. The final charity auction total was 3500 GBP. Sunday is traditionally a much quieter day with very few activities planned. Steven Dean was still selling some of his incredible Discworld special editions and a meeting of Flatalists took place where new stamps were discussed and future progressions were planned. Eventually it was time for Bernard to shut up shop and get a few hours sleep. I spent a while making my goodbyes before eventually heading back to the car and the ride home. I had an excellent weekend and particularly enjoyed making new friends and being able to put faces to names. The Silver Horde web site at http://www.silverhorde.co.uk has a huge collection of photos taken by several different people at the event. 12 Membership List Full list of Convention Members as of 22nd July 2005. Memberships have been flooding in since the beginning of the year, and at the last update, there were 240 members, including guests and committee. Don't forget to remind friends who are planning to attend that if they wish to benefit from the lower membership rates (£45 full, £30 concessionary), they must send in their applications before 31 August 2004. After that date, prices rise to £50 full, £35 concessionary. You can find DW Con staff busily manning (and womanning!) stands at Clarecraft Discworld Event and WorldCon this August. If you have any queries about your membership, you can contact Jennifer Delaney at dwcon@clanwilliam.net or membership@dwcon.org. G1 Terry Pratchett G2 Stephen Briggs G3 Colin Smythe G4 Bernard Pearson G5 Isobel Pearson G6 Trevor Truran G7 Jack Cohen G8 Ian Stewart G9 Diane Duane G10 Peter Morwood G11 Lionel Fanthorpe G12 Graham Higgins G13 Dave Langford A50 Pam Gower A51 Andrew Nevill A52 Barry Roche A53 Naomi Jacobs A54 Padraig O Mealoid A55 Deirdre Walsh A56 Steven Dean A57 John Tierney A58 Chris Griggs A59 Alison Grigg A60 Lucy Jefferie A61 John Hicks A62 Ian Oldroyd S63 Emma Shephard A64 Kate Oldroyd A65 Mandy Oldroyd A66 Christine Russell A67 Ulisa Fletcher A68 Mari Fletcher A69 Sandra Battye A70 Adrian Emery A71 David Ward A72 Christine Ward A73 Martyn Clapham A74 Diane James A75 Ken James A76 Fiona O Mahoney A77 Derek Mahony A78 Christine Mahony S79 David Offen-James S80 Susan Offen-James A81 Gillian Egan A82 Keith Wiltshire A83 Jennifer Egan A84 Rachel Egan A85 David Hodges A86 E-J Burr A87 Nico Westerhof A88 Simon Callan A89 Mandy Tonks A90 Andrew Brown A91 Peter Smith A92 Alex Cowley A93 Karen Martin A94 Ian Tuffnell A95 Justin Thompson A96 Tim Williams A97 Paul Tong A98 Patricia E Pickles A99 Beverley Greenhalgh A100 Peter Charles A101 David Lane A102 Michael Lanting A103 John Strong A104 Kai Blake A105 Jacqueline Blake A106 Carolyn Bintley S107 Denise Collier A108 MIchael Clements A109 Christopher Edwards A110 Ruth Charles A111 Jayne Riley A112 Jacqueline Lawrence A113 Vincent Oberheim A114 Jerry Elsmore A115 Jeroen Metselaar A116 Alex Osmond A117 Paul Osmond A118 Lynne Savage A119 Patricia Frobisher- Manners A120 Wayne Roberts A121 Jacqueline Watts A122 Ann Kirkbright A123 Andrew Birtwhistle A124 Neil Summerfield A125 Richard John Artley A126 Keith Ingle A127 Liz Ingle A128 Alistair Hunter-Jones A129 Michael Hunter-Jones A130 Rachel Hunter-Jones A131 Kimberly Verburg A132 Alan Bellingham A133 Alison Willis A134 Hayley Marsden A135 Robert Flach A136 Alec Cawley A137 Bodo Bellut A138 Mark Harrson A139 Andrea Shorrick A140 Lynne Morgan A141 Sally Gurney A142 Eelco Giele A143 Rachel Coleman A144 Tony Finch A145 Patrick (JR) Harkin A146 Patrick Harkin A147 Gaenor Mallender A148 Steve James A149 Pat Harris A150 Olivia Mifflin A151 Andrew Mifflin A152 Eleanor Mifflin A153 Finlay Mifflin A154 Edmund Simons A155 Elaine Simons A156 Simon Knott A157 Stella Royal A158 Brigitte De Smedt A159 Elizabeth Alway A160 Paul Alway A161 Andrea Denninger S162 Ray Smith A163 David Harvey A164 Nick Caulfield A165 Elaine Mein A166 Tony Perkins A167 Kimberley Haddock A168 Astrid Christie A169 Sharon Haddock A170 Peter Haddock A171 Alex Carlton A172 Tracey Durbin A173 Naomi Ratcliffe A174 Claire Gaydon A175 Lewis Abnett A176 Samantha Durbin A177 Katy Telsa Lavender S178 Susannah Barnett A179 Sheila Wicks A180 Reece Robinson A181 Robert Owen A182 Pauline Harris A183 Gary Harris A184 Doreen Knight S185 Angela Wagstaffe A186 Carl Muller A187 Kerry Ann Adamson A188 Deborah Johnson A189 Debra Hayward A190 Phil Minto A191 Stephen Roberts A192 Becky Thomson A193 Sabine Schotel A194 Darren Mintoft A195 Anna Caggiano A196 Steve Hunter A197 Brian Wakeling A198 Clive Troubman S199 Howard Smith S200 Elizabeth Smith A201 Joann Richardson A202 Rosemary Warner A203 Olga Bukreev A204 Edmund Schluessel A205 Osman El-Gothamy A206 Rosanna Day A207 Jennifer Hayward A208 Katrina Baker A209 Stephen Lawson A210 Stuart Wrighton A211 Sue Wrighton A212 Sharon Evans A213 Ruechenda Herd A214 Lola Gudgeon A215 James Gudgeon A216 Alison King A217 Gregory Finch A218 Natalie Smith A219 Shaun Main A220 Sorcha OBrien A221 Gideon Holyoake A222 Rich Pedley A223 Mel Pedley A224 Niall Lund A225 Kai Pedley A226 Gabe Krabbe A227 Sabine Krabbe A228 Donal Cunningham A229 Teddy A230 Stephen Scott A231 Elaine Ruth Pearce-Jones A232 Raymond King A233 Colm Buckley A234 Heather Wallace A235 Louisa Bird A236 Graham Bird A237 Sylvie Bird A238 Gemma Richardson A239 Mandy Sleigh A240 Laura Sleigh A241 Kate Sleigh A242 Tim Van Holder A243 Stephen Lewis A244 Tania Lewis A245 Rhys Lewis A246 Briony Lewis A247 Reinier Sjouw A248 Jennifer Sjouw-Bashforth A249 Patricia Sjouw A250 Rolf Milde A251 Uwe Milde A252 Rose Mary Johnston A253 Richard Stellaard A254 Christine Bosman A255 Jane Robinson A256 Stuart Wood A257 Linda Reid A258 Adam Durbin A259 Jason Helstrip A260 Kathryn Wallis A261 Neil Wallis A262 Tricia Williams A263 NicholasAvenell A264 Diane Serpa A265 Thomas Busha A266 Patrick Dersjant A267 Katherine Levin A268 Joanne Mouatt A269 Janette Ward A270 Ingo Korb A271 Glen Robson S272 Martyn Ransom The Reduced Discworld Theatre Call for Actors. Are you interested in taking part in the next Reduced Discworld Theatre Production at the 2006 Convention? If so, please contact theatre@dwcon.org 15 Trevor’s Teasers Hotel Notsoparadiso At festival times even hotels in The Shades are full to elbowing. In this hotel the house rules require that in each block of six rooms (surrounded by the thicker walls) there must only be one Dwarf, Golem, Troll, Vampire, Witch and Zombie (one life-form in each room). On this particular night it is also true that there is one of each being in each straight line, across and down. From those already snoring in their beds, can you place the rest? Solution in the next issue of The Chronicle. 16 Contacts The Discworld Convention 2006 P.O Box 102, Royston, Herts SG8 7ZJ tel/fax: +44 (0) 7092 394940 web: www.dwcon.org email: info@dwcon.org (general enquires) hotel@dwcon.org (hotel queries) volunteers@dwcon.org (volunteering) membership@dwcon.org (membership issues) programme@dwcon.org (programme questions/ideas) dealers@dwcon.org (dealer applications/queries) chronicle@dwcon.org (contact the editor) The L-Space Web (Pratchett/Discworld fan site) email: info@lspace.org web: www.lspace.org The Guild of Fans and Disciples (unofficial fan club) Haltings, Farthing Hill, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1TS email: gofad@btinternet.com web: www.geocities.com/Area51/1777/ Discworld Monthly (electronic fanzine) email: ook@ufbs.co.uk web: www.ufbs.co.uk/dwm The Orangutan Foundation 7 Kent Terrace, London NW1 4RP email: info@orangutan.org.uk web: www.orangutan.org.uk tel: +44 (0) 207 724 2912 fax: +44 (0) 207 706 2613 Stephen Briggs (CMOT Dibbler) P.O. Box 147, Oxford OX2 8YT email: sbriggs@cix.co.uk web: www.stephenbriggs.com/ The Cunning Artificer’s Discworld Emporium (Pearson sculptures, waxworks, stamps and more) 41 The High Street, Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9JU email: isobel@artificer.co.uk web: www.artificer.co.uk tel: +44 (0) 1963 824686 fax: +44 (0) 1963 824671 Clarecraft (figurines) Unit 1, Woolpit Business Park, Woopit IP30 9SH email: info@clarecraft.co.uk web: www.clarecraft.co.uk tel: +44 (0) 1359 241277 fax: +44 (0) 1359 242253 Colin Smythe (Terry’s agent) P.O. Box 6, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire SL9 8XA web: www.colin-smythe.com/ tel: +44 (0) 1753 886000 fax: +44 (0) 1753 886469